Sumter County Primary School recently celebrated Pre-K week with fun and exciting dress up days and special visitors. This year was extremely momentous because it marked the 25th Anniversary for the lottery funded Georgia Pre-K. In the past 25 years the program has served 1.4 million students since its pilot year in 1992. On October 10th Pre-K students, teachers, administrators, and many community members took part in a birthday celebration for the special year. The students sang happy birthday to Pre-K, enjoyed cupcakes, face painting, and games.

Sumter County Schools have served Pre-K students since 1992 and have played a significant role in many of the programs major milestones. In 2009 SCPS was the site that enrolled the millionth child in the Ga Pre-K program. In 2015 the Sumter County Pre-K classes participated in a pilot program for Quality Rating in public schools and received Quality Rated Status. Then, just last year one of SCPS’s students, De’Asia Jenkins, designed the winning banner for the 25th Anniversary celebration. Her design was used for the 25th Birthday celebration throughout the state.

Pre-K is very important in building a strong foundation towards obtaining the mission of Sumter County Schools, “To Graduate All Students”. Also, research shows that students who attend Pre-K have higher academic success.